Golf is a sport enjoyed by many people, including a large number of amateurs who have yet to master the basics of golfing. Putting, in particular, proves to be a challenge for many amateur golfers. A proper putting stance will position a golfer's eyes over the ball, while the swing will ideally have minimal opening on the back and forward swing, following a pendulum stroke. While most golfers exhibit a stance that is too far from the ball, there are some that tend to stand too close to the ball. Despite various aids to improve their putting, many amateur golfers do not keep their eyes over the ball and swing in an arc motion, with large arc-openings on the front and back swing. These issues are linked; when the eyes are off center (from as little to one inch and past six inches), the subsequent stroke opens along the back and front swing, forming an arc motion when viewed from above. While this can result in good contact with the ball, it requires hitting the ball at the center of the stroke, such that the putter face is perpendicular to the intended putting line. Conversely, when the eyes are correctly positioned directly over the ball, the golfer is encouraged to swing the putter back and forth along a straight line.
A more likely result of an arc swing is that the putter face strikes the ball before or after the center of the stroke, resulting in the ball travelling to the left or right of the intended putting line. Related to the stance, numerous other factors affect a golfer's swing, including the length of the putter (often they are too long), the wingspan of the golfer, and the position of the hands on the putter. Since putting represents 50% of the golf game, perfecting the stance and related issues provides a huge boost to an amateur's game. To improve one's putting, focus must be placed on distance and direction. Distance is a function of the subconscious, as it is based on how much force a golfer applies to the stroke. Direction depends on multiple factors, such as the slope of the green and the stroke. The slope of the green is an external factor, and in a sense cannot be “corrected”. The stroke, however, is a key ingredient of putting and can be corrected. While different persons have different natural strokes, ranging from figure eights to straight lines, the ideal stroke is the straight line or “pendulum stroke”.
The prior art, rather than allowing the golfer to assume a natural stance and stroke, artificially force the golfer into the proper stance and stroke. While these solutions work for some, they are avoided by others for numerous reasons, mainly that they are too cumbersome and costly. Some amateurs eschew these solutions because they view the solutions as too complex or simply believe that their stroke needs no improvement. There exists a need for an inexpensive, simple, and convenient apparatus for improving one's putting stance and stroke.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that provides color-coded visual cues to indicate if a golfers stance is too close, too far, or properly distanced from a ball. It is a further object of the present invention to improve a golfer's putting by improving their stance and swing. It is a further object of the present invention to help a golfer correct an arc putter swing to the ideal pendulum putting swing.